Customer Reviews

Agony & Irony

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

First of all, to start this ramble in the form of a review, I would like to say that, to me, three stars means good record, but not great. And that's how I feel about "Agony and Irony", the newest LP from the Alkaline Trio, and their "major label" debut.
The reason I put "major label" in quotation marks there is that Alkaline Trio put their last three records out on Vagrant Records, and to think that that isn't at least a mini-major is naive and silly. To add to that, Alkaline Trio has become progressively more polished and radio friendly with each record, right up to their last record, the excellent "Crimson", which sounded good enough to get substantial radio airplay, which I'm still surprised it didn't.
So to look at this as some big break from the Alkaline trio sound would be silly, and to think of this as a sell out move would be wrong headed. This record makes complete sense in the continued progression in the groups sound.
So why three stars for the record? To be honest with you, this sounds like Alkaline Trio on autopilot for the majority of the album. The albums lead off single "Help Me" starts off very close to "Time to Waste" on the last record, and goes to a fairly standard start and stop guitar riff before blowing up to a fairly decent chorus, that never really catches hold. "Calling All Skeletons" equates hand claps with pop music, and though as it progresses to the chorus is improves and finds it's melody, it's not a strong enough one to stay in your head.
In fact, that's the problem with this record. The songs all feel half done, as if the band were a step away from writing another killer set of goth pop punk, but just didn't quite finish completing the material. Not a lot stands out as you're listening to it. The lyrics lack the same wit and style that they have had in the past, and musically it all feels just half thought out.
There are a couple of killer tracks here, most notably "Love Love Kiss Kiss", one of the few tracks that bassist Dan Andriano contributed to the record.
But, in all honesty, there isn't anything bad on this record. Nothing will make you cringe or angry. There's just nothing great here either, I think. You will probably not be upset at the money you spent, but you probably won't listen to it much either.

I really loved every single Alk3 album to date, truly some of my all time favorite rock, period. But Agony and Irony is just okay as far as I'm concerned. Maybe it is just me, but do any of you guys hear aspects of the Weezer sound throughout? The way the songs bump and bounce (too much bounce I think) and generally sound just reminds me of them. I don't think it is a good sound for alk3 at all (at least not the way they portrayed it here). I'm cool with them experimenting and growing, but I think it might be good to hold onto the sound (the dark crunch and edge, if you will of the earlier days) and to keep putting cool sounding instrumental jams in the songs on their albums like their earlier works. I'd like to hear more of that again - those early jams are intense, fun, and majorly rock as well as define them apart from other bands. Those strengths are very much underemphasized in this release with them emphasizing things that they clearly do not excel at in a way that stands out. But who knows where this release will take them from here. Growing pains are never smooth and easy.

I'm still not sure why Alkaline Trio of all bands was picked up by a major label (probably fan base) but that's irrelevant. If you make a good album it doesn't matter who's making the money. This is a good album...but it's not great and it's not excellent. Gone is the snarl and some of the dark tones but the core remains. There are some memorable songs and others you'll skip over...but in no way does this effort come close to matching Good Mourning or even Crimson. No memorable acoustic magic as far as I can remember (see: Blue in the face). Granted the band deserves to succeed for the effort they put into their music but sometimes doing this alienates fans and fails to gain new fans and the band ends up failing and breaking up. Will this be one of those "AFI" or "Bad Religion" moments? Definitely...maybe.

Not a big fan of this one. I absolutley loved crimson, it's my second favorite album behind from here to the infirmary. Crimson was progression in my opinion, this however is not. It's way to poppy, and I NEVER say that. I sound like one of the reviewers I hate, that say things like "they are sooo much different, this is pop" type of things. But for the first time, this actually is. I think it was a pretty poor effort in everyway. Their new producer has helped with bands like staind and korn...not sure why they agreed with that. If I was to pick my 6 least favorite alk trio songs, 5 of them would be on this albumn along with sleepyhead. I am just really dissapointed. Oh well, theres always the next albumn!

I really like this album. The Trio has continued to grow through the past decade, and their sound has really improved. The rough guitars and wailing that were hallmarks of their early efforts like "Stupid Kid" have given way to a more melodic and rounded sound on this album. Its very good and very easy to listen to - very grown up. But, as other posters have noted, its also very forgettable. Once the song is over, the melody is already out of your head and you have to really think about it to get it back. A solid album, but it lacks the dark soul that infected all their early works.

I have listened to the Alk3 since I can remember and it goes without saying that i anxiously wait for ever new release by them. And while I am not one of those people that bashes newer alk3 just for the hell of it I do believe this album falls unfortunately into the same category as their last two releases "forgetful". Its not that it is an awful listen I thoroughly enjoyed a few tracks off it (Over and Out,Do you wanna know?,Into the Night)it just doesnt have the same staying power this band once produced. The sound is too polished to blend well with Matts voice, the lyrics have become too blunt, and generic, and quite frankly Matt no longer belts out songs with the same authority he once did. I am all for a band progressing over time i.e. Brand New but this is not maturing, it is slowly fading into (i really hate to say this) an average band.

okay, first things first. alkaline trio fans, let's face the facts right now. they are probably not going to make another raw, dark, gritty, punk rock album like they did in their early days (ala "goddamnit", "maybe i'll catch fire", "from here to infirmary"). the sooner you hardcore trio fans see that the sooner you'll realize that this album isn't as bad as you want it to be. okay, yes they lost some of their edge and some songwriting skills but this is a strong album (especially for a major label debut). not to mention the bands been going strong for over a decade and you can't possibly expect them to keep making the same style of music album after album. that's boring...so let them evolve in their own way. if they want to make more polished, radio-friendly doom pop....let them be. wouldn't you rather hear alkaline trio on the radio than all that other crap.

another question that comes to mind, did they sell out? well that's up to debate. yes, they acquired nu-metal producer josh abraham to run the boards but that's just the trio trying to mix things up a little i think. i do wonder though why they played for the god-awful, self-absorbed reality show "the hills" on mtv. that does make you think of their intentions. but you know what, i've always thought of the trio as a loyle group of guys who always do things for themselves first and make the music they want to. so deep down, i don't think they sold out. they made these bold moves to shake things up a bit and try different things that could perhaps enhance their career as a band.

as for the record itself, the songs do have more of a pop element to them like everyone is saying. they all seem extremely poppy and less gritty/raw like their earlier work. as for their more recent releases "good mourning" and "crimson", this album tops those. this album isn't anymore poppy than those albums and i would say this album is closest to the sound they were going for on "good mourning" than anything else. out of these three albums "agony and irony" is the strongest.

right when you push play you have the extra catchy "calling all skeletons" which is bound to become a classic. next is their popular radio single "help me" and is one of the bands best songs to date. while i've never been a big fan of dan andriano songs, i do however love "do you wanna know" and "love, love, kiss, kiss". those are bound to become classics as well and don't forget about my favorite on the album, "live young, die fast". this became a classic and a favorite the first time i heard it. it's classic trio but it has a slow groove to it. it kind of reminds me of a old doo-wop song from the 60's (kind of like what green day did with foxboro hot tubs). while i do agree their are some clunkers on here ("ruin it", "lost and rendered"), most of the other songs are decent to get repeated plays.

all in all, the alkaline trio has delivered a great major label debut with "agony and irony". no, it's not anywhere as great as their earlier classics but it's a great improvement from "crimson". although i hate to see my bands go mainstream, i hope they release 3+ singles off this album and become a well-known name to rock music. they've been working hard for over 10 years and they deserve any success that comes their way.

thanks for reading

it's a typical alkaline trio album although they're slowing their tempo a little bit in this album.I expected that kind of music after all these years in the making.most of their tracks are catchy ,but thats just personal opinion,i need a little up tempo drums.their song are kind of similar to each other.but this album worths listening to it

This is not the old Trio that made Goddammit for dirt cheap. Sony / Epic have too much on the Bass Drum and too little on Dan's Bass (which is weird b/c normally they have too much bass). Get it, play with the treble / bass a little and you'll be fine. It still won't sound like old school but it will still be good.

I disagree with several of these reviewers. If you call this "not punk" today, I'd say the same about every other record they put out. The topics are same; the lyrics however, are little more vague / softer in their "too-the-point-ness" heard in the past. The style is similar - a little more poppier in some cases (but after hearing Crimson, I've expected as much).

Try not to listen too much ot the haters. It's a little different but if it was exactly the same it would get boring (just look at Pennywise and Bad Religion ... yeah yeah, sorry but it's true).

If you're a fan get it.

Add'l: the deluxe edition is worth it. promise.

To start off this review, I'd like to say that I'm a fan of every Alkaline Trio album. I'm not one to say that their old albums are better than the new ones, and vice versa. I love all of their work equally, because each album is honest in showing who they were at the time. To those who say that their lyrics have gone soft, I'd have to argue that their lyrics are just less straight-forward. With age their lyrics have gotten more poetic and metaphorical. Sure, there isn't near as much heartache, but the guys are happily married, so what can you expect? Another claim that seems to be made about this album is that it is too poppy. This is mostly due to increased production values, but it's obvious that from album to album the production has gotten slicker. Personally, this album reminds me of "Good Mourning" more than any of their other albums, as it doesn't have all of the synth of "Crimson" but is still more radio-friendly than their older albums. All in all, this is another amazing effort from the band, and I highly recommend that the naysayers try to appreciate the growth and maturity displayed on the album. Long live the Trio!